• Subscribe
  • Magazine
  • 40 Under 40
  • Supplier's Directory
  • Advertise
  • Contact Us
    1. Rail

    The End of Work at Champ-de-Mars Station: Working elevators, A Green Roof and New Artwork

    Dec. 10, 2014
    Montreal leaders announce that work at Champ-de-Mars station is over, and that it now features three new elevators for universal access, a green roof and new art work.
    Related To: Societe de transport de Montreal (STM)
    STM
    From left to right, Philippe Schnobb, Robert Poëti, Aref Salem, Monique Vallée and in front, Marie Turcotte.
    From left to right, Philippe Schnobb, Robert Poëti, Aref Salem, Monique Vallée and in front, Marie Turcotte.

    Robert Poëti, minister of transport and Minister responsible for theMontréal region, Aref Salem, city of Montréal Executive Committee member in charge of transportation, Philippe Schnobb, Société de transport de Montréal (STM) Board chairman, and Marie Turcotte, transport adapté service users’ representative, are proud to announce that work at Champ-de-Mars station is over, and that it now features three new elevators for universal access, a green roof and new art work.

    "Expanding and renovating Champ-de-Mars station has made it a preferred gateway, facilitating the métro system’s universal access, for all patient traffic to the CHUM medical centre. Its underground passageway and elevator will provide the station with a safer and more pleasant environment for all users," explained Poëti.

    "Introducing elevator service at Champ-de-Mars métro station is good news for all Montrealers. Such facilities will ensure comfort and safety for wheelchair users, and for all métro users, including our families. This change is in line with our constant efforts to improve transit service and promote its use," added Salem, along with Mrs. Vallée, city of Montréal executive committee member in charge of accessibility, in attendance.

    "These renovations served to give our network another accessible station, which in itself is a priority for us, but we have also added elements of sustainability and public art, which is perfectly in line with STM’s corporate mission. So we can rightly say that this project is a resounding success," declared Schnobb.

    Champ-de-Mars becomes the network’s eighth accessible station with Montmorency, de la Concorde, Cartier, Henri-Bourassa, Berri-UQAM, Lionel-Groulx and Côte-Vertu. Similar work is also underway at Jean-Talon and Snowdon stations, and more is set to start at Rosemont station in January. The next stations in line to become accessible are Place-d’Armes, Mont-Royal, Berri-UQAM (Green line), Honoré-Beaugrand and Place-des-Arts. 

    "This new service offer is in line with STM’s intention to make its transit network accessible to all customers. In fact, based on our development plan, the measures we took serve to make the entire transit system universally  accessible, while still providing a first-rate paratransit service," pointed out Turcotte.

    With cost estimates at $12 million, 75 percent of which is funded by the Ministère des Transports du Québec (MTQ), work started on Champ-de-Mars station in August 2012. The work mostly consisted of expanding the entryway, extending the mezzanine, building elevator shafts down to the train platforms and to the tunnel connecting to the CHUM research centre (CRCHUM), installing the elevators and new ceramic on the platform level. Particular care was given to the finish work so that it would all blend in gracefully with the entryway’s original design.

    A second station with a green roof   

    Renovation work also made it possible to add a green roof to the station’s expanded entrance to help lessen the thermal island effect in urban areas. As such, roughly 58 m2 of the roof surface is covered with different types of vegetation, including clover, fescue and bluegrass, in step with sustainability goals. This is the second station to have such a roof after Angrignon, along with the Legendre and Stinson bus garages.

    New artwork 

    Furthermore, as part of the work on Champ-de-Mars station, and in accordance with the Québec government’s 1% policy, a work of art will be installed in the expanded entranceway early in 2015, next to Marcelle Ferron’s luminous stained-glass windows. The featured artwork is a sculpture by Montréal artist Jacques Bilodeau, entitled Un solide, consisting of 14 brass plates. It was selected by a seven-member jury through a public art competition.

    "As a gateway to Old Montréal, Champ-de-Mars station is a star among our stations and has been included many times among the world’s most beautiful stations, thanks in large measure to Marcelle Ferron’s stained-glass masterpiece. Today, we further enhance its uniqueness by adding a new work by Jacques Bilodeau, and we are very proud of it," said Schnobb.